Heroes and Thieves
by aprilbird
Summary: Sometimes it's hard to tell who's the hero and who's the thief.


When someone dies, the connection between body and spirit is completely severed. The soul, or reikon, has no choice but to leave the body behind and join their ancestors in the afterlife or become an earthbound spirit. These restless earthbound spirits are called yurei and will haunt the living until they are laid to rest. But, the dead are not the only ones with the ability to manifest their reikon for a haunting. The living have the ability to create an ikiryo, a form of astral projection that allows a part of the soul to leave the body and move about freely. This ikiryo can only be seen by those possessing a very potent sixth-sense or if the spirit wants to reveal itself to someone…but these ikiryo can be deadly if they are crossed.

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Its an odd sensation that you really have to get used too. First, I had to slip into a deep sleep state. This state mimics death and is the only way for the soul to leave the body without having actually passed on to the next life. My body is very vulnerable in this state so I always have to make sure it is safe and protected by charms and spells. I also have to make sure I remember where it is or I will be stuck as a ghost until it is found. Once I had slipped into the deepest stage of sleep, I left my body. The separation is merely brought on by a thought and voila. Its sort of like taking off a bodysuit, I have to peel it off and then just step out.

Once I no longer felt the urge to breathe or blink, and the sound of my heartbeat throbbing in my ears had disappeared, I knew the connection had been severed. My feet were firmly paced on the ground, and although I knew there was dust and earth beneath my toes, there was only the slightest sensation of feeling that was more of a memory then anything. I fluidly swung around to gaze at the body on the floor. It was like gazing into the face of a familiar stranger, a hazy memory on the edge of my thoughts. It was me but…not really. I chuckled soundlessly as I contemplated my odd thoughts. Aware that I was wasting time, I cut myself off and gazed sharply at my two traveling companions. A petite man was holding a large white hare cradled in his arms waiting for me to give him instructions. I can't make any audible noise while I am a spirit, but we can communicate by "sending" our thoughts at each other.

"You know the drill, keep me safe…" I thought as I began to leave.

He stopped me with a hand to my shoulder. "You don't have to do this, we can find someone else for the job. You know it isn't safe…"

Slapping his hand away I thought angrily, "It will be fine. Stop being so paranoid and have some faith in me!"

He paused, an unreadable expression on his face as he backed up and said, "Be careful."

I nodded solemnly and took off at a sprint. Another thing about an out of body experience is that you never get tired; you could literally go on forever. What I do isn't really flying, more like hovering or floating. Since I am on the spirit plane I am not truly in contact with the Earth but there is almost like invisible gauze spread over everything; this gauze is the connection between the two dimensions.

When I am in my body, I am incredible nimble even by demon standards. As a spirit I am pretty much just a blur of color. As I moved, my body knew what this run would feel like: the wind whipping my hair around my face as it made an audible whoosh in my ears, the spicy smell of pine needles as they crunched under my bare feet, and the blur of the trees as they seemed to part and let me through. I came to an immediate stop at the edge of the forest, a clearing in front of me. About 50 yards away were…humans. The smell wafting from the town was so acute I felt almost sick. The beast inside me purred in anticipation. I quieted it with a hush, mumbling for it to wait a little longer. Gingerly, I stepped onto the gritty dirt that led into a park and nimbly made my way through the crowd. It is sort of ominous to stare someone in the eye and have them walk right past you without so much as an acknowledgment of your existence. Not a soul in this area could see me. I hadn't been around humans in so long…

I loosened my mental control over the beast a little…its good at finding people. The demon that had hired me had given me an article of clothing and the smell had embedded itself in my mind already. I recalled the image of the expensive trench coat and turned my nose towards the sky, inhaling deeply. It felt so good to be free and not hold so much restraint. I smiled to myself and then there it was…just a whiff but I knew it was him, the aroma was unmistakable. I followed the smell the way you might follow a paved road, as if it wanted me to find him. The beast growled a little in impatience and I chided it, until I came to a dead stop. I had almost passed right over him and his companions...he had been so close and I didn't even know. I mistook him for a girl at first, with his long red tresses and slender feminine figure, but when I caught sight at his eyes I could see women melting before him. I was even winded for second as I gazed into those emerald orbs framed by long lashes.

I kept a little distance from the group.

They were having a heated argument about something. A young man with slicked back hair was gesturing wildly and was complaining. "Pacifier breath can suck it! I haven't had any time to spend with Keiko in ages, and if I cancel another date on her she will murder me! Besides, I don't work for him anymore…we all got our own lives now…" The last part he said in a more reserved tone, and then looked questioningly at the beautiful one.

"Yusuke, we need your help on this one. We need everyone. Koenma made it especially clear that this demon needs to be stopped immediately or he could go on a killing rampage. Do you want that?''

The one now dubbed Yusuke stubbornly glared at the green-eyed man and grunted. It was at this moment that I noticed another one of the companions, a tall one with orange hair, was looking straight at me. His gaze was very concentrated as if he was certain I would disappear if he looked away. Could he see me? There was some powerful spirit energy radiating off of him, but I wasn't sure.

"What are you staring at you idiot?" Yusuke questioned rather bluntly.

As he stared into my eyes my gaze burned back with the same intensity.

"Guys… I think a ghost is listening into our conversation…"

It took them a while but they finally saw me hovering a few yards behind them. I didn't leave because what could they do to me? The thought made me giggle silently. I examined the group as a whole and realized I had overlooked one. This last one was on the short side and had strange black hair that stuck up unnaturally. There was an air of contempt around him. When I met his even stare a slight wind brought perfumed air with it, my blood boiling and the beast screaming as I looked into his ruby red irises. I think my heart stopped for a minute as the beast practically salivated, yanking at an invisible leash to get closer to him. He just smelled so appetizing, it wanted him.

That is when I bolted from the spot as fast as I could.

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Author's Note: OK, so...this is my first fanfiction EVER! I would appreciate any advice and constructive criticism, if anyone decides to read this of course. I am planning on making this story take place after the series ends and most of it will be based off of information in the manga. I really am looking forward to this story and hope at least one person out there will take some joy in my crappy writing skills!

Toodles,

U.P.


End file.
